A Quick Way to Freeze Kale

I plant a lot of kale in my garden. But at this time of year I don’t seem to harvest it much. I’m focused on eating the hot weather vegetables I can’t get during the spring, summer and fall – tomatoes, eggplant, red peppers, melon and berries.

But come winter, I love to use kale in smoothies, soups, stews and stir fries. Unfortunately, by then my kale is usually standing dead in my garden from one too many below-20-degree nights.

If you tend to have worms and insects in your kale it might be best to wash the leaves before processing.

Cut the leaves from the stems. Discard stems.

Chop the leaves into desired bite sized pieces.

If you don’t mind them freezing into one big chunk simply pack the leaves into freezer bags. (This is what I do.)

If you’d like the leaves to be loose and easily broken apart, spread them on a cookie sheet and pre-freeze them in the freezer for 60 minutes. Then pack into freezer bags.

The best place to store your frozen kale is in the chest freezer. It will last up to one year – unless you eat it all first!

Food preserving really doesn’t get much easier than that! I’ve used this method for several years now and it’s wonderful. I never buy kale from the grocery store in the winter.

Do you have a favorite food that is surprisingly easy to store over? Share it in the comments!

For more tips on preserving food without the hassle of canning, check out my book, Super Easy Food Preserving, in e-book or print.

I’m hosting a FREE 7 Day Challenge starting Sunday, August 23 and you’re invited. Make Your Garden Harvest Last All Year will help you get started preserving the harvest so you have a pantry full of mouth-watering vegetables to use in your recipes way beyond the gardening season. I focus on the quickest and easiest ways to preserve food – no canning involved!

Megan Cain is setting out to create a legion of gardening addicts who successfully and passionately grow their own food.Through her gardening education business, The Creative Vegetable Gardener, she helps people get more out of their gardens by first mastering the essentials and then indulging in the colorful details that make gardening not just a favorite pastime, but a lifestyle. Jump on her email list at www.creativevegetablegardener.com to get her best advice in the season you need it most.

Thank you! Any difference in processing savoy kale as opposed to a smoother more uniform kale? Id assume not but I have to ask. I saw some Lacinato kale here http://sustainableseedco.com/organic-lacinato-kale.html it seems to be the same kale you have pictured in your article..

Megan Cain - Creative Veg Gardener | February 19, 2016

Hi Mary -

Yes, you’re right, the kale in the photo is lacinato. I love to grow it! I grow several different varieties of kale and process/freeze them all the same. I’m still using them now in February for dinners.

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